Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Reaches New 12-Month High After Dividend Announcement

Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $54.55 and last traded at $54.5950, with a volume of 11022 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $52.10.The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.6%. This is an increase from Peoples Financial Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Peoples Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.29%.Analysts Set New Price TargetsA number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Hovde Group lowered their price objective on shares of Peoples Financial Services from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Stephens set a $50.00 target price on Peoples Financial Services and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Peoples Financial Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Peoples Financial Services in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $50.00.Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on PFISPeoples Financial Services Trading Up 4.2%The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market cap of $542.52 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.99 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $50.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.58. Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $89.23 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $48.25 million. Peoples Financial Services had a return on equity of 18.84% and a net margin of 21.50%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Peoples Financial Services Corp. will post 5.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Institutional Inflows and OutflowsSeveral hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new position in shares of Peoples Financial Services during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,993,000. Fourthstone LLC bought a new position in Peoples Financial Services during the second quarter valued at about $568,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 5.7% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 231,462 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $11,430,000 after buying an additional 12,447 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 29.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,619 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $516,000 after acquiring an additional 2,420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 123.7% in the 3rd quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 9,357 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $455,000 after acquiring an additional 5,175 shares in the last quarter. 31.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Peoples Financial Services Company Profile (Get Free Report)Peoples Financial Services Corporation is the bank holding company for PeoplesBank, a community-focused commercial bank headquartered in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, PeoplesBank, PFIS offers a full suite of banking services to individuals, small businesses, and commercial clients. These services include deposit accounts, consumer and residential mortgage lending, commercial and industrial lending, and treasury management solutions. Founded in 1842, PeoplesBank has grown organically and through selective acquisitions to become a prominent community bank in Western Massachusetts and Northern Connecticut.Read MoreFive stocks we like better than Peoples Financial ServicesTicker Revealed: Pre-IPO Access to "Next Elon Musk" CompanyGOLD ALERTForget AI, This Will Be the Next Big Tech BreakthroughThis is the Exact Moment the AI Boom Will EndTrump Planning to Use Public Law 63-43: Prepare NowThis instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.Should You Invest $1,000 in Peoples Financial Services Right Now?Before you consider Peoples Financial Services, you'll want to hear this.MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Peoples Financial Services wasn't on the list.While Peoples Financial Services currently has a Hold rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.View The Five Stocks Here